Protection
by Karu Leonnese
Summary: In which a king and a knight discover how much trouble Transporters can be.
1. Transporters

Protection

By Karu Leonnese

Chapter One: Transporters

Notes: Okay, second time around. Or third? This story was posted as 'Kago' before, but I decided randomly one day to revise it. Which meant first rewriting the first part, since my skills have improved. So here's the better, soon-to-beh finished version. Comments are appreciated, even if you didn't read the first version (which I'm deleting in case FF.N wants to get all uppity about a possible double post. I'm not taking any more chances…). Of course, nothing's that easy. After an entire sitting revising the first chappeh, the compeh ate half of it. Therefore, this is actually the revised-revised version. Version 3.0 Fun, ne?

Warnings: Violence, language and possible shounen-ai. I own nothing, probably not even the original idea. I'm just taking a spin. :grins: Caleb, Macchia and John are original charas, and they don't play too much of a role in the story. No Mary-Sues or anything. :winks:

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The clash of metal against metal echoed throughout the small arena. The two opponents separated for a moment, giving some space between them. The battle had lasted for some time already, and both combatants were now gasping for breath and rushed with adrenaline. Lavitz, the knight in green, held his spear ready, instincts calculating his opponent's next move. Caleb, the brunette in simple training gear, kept his sword at an angle, yelping slightly as he attempted to block the spear's attack. He barely met it in time, with a loud 'clank' from their weapons.

"Had enough yet, Lavitz?" Caleb grinned at the other, even though both knew who was really losing this fight.

His opponent returned the smirk. "I could go for a bit longer…but I really should be getting back." With that, Lavitz swung his spear and caught Caleb off guard, tripping the shorter boy. The brunette tumbled to the ground, his sword clattering next to him. Lavitz's spear met his gaze, pointed right below his chin and not faltering.

"Checkmate." The blond grinned and helped Caleb off the ground. The brunette groaned good-naturedly, beaten once more. Around them, the small crowd of townspeople that had assembled to watch them applauded. The combatants took a little bow. With the fight over, the crowd began to disperse, leaving the two to pack up their things.

"You're getting better," Lavitz commented absently, picking up the discarded sword and returning it to its owner.

"Or maybe you're getting worse!" Caleb laughed, wiggling out of his training armor.

"It just might be both," a voice came jokingly from behind them. The brunette turned to see a figure in a dark green cloak. The hood covered his hair and eyes, but his mouth was smiling.

Lavitz didn't even turn around. He didn't have to. "Finally taking a break from your books?" he asked good-naturedly.

The cloaked figure looked mock offended. "I came to see if this pupil of yours could finally beat the master. It appears that today wasn't the day, however."

Caleb felt a bit awkward at the pair's obvious familiarity. "I guess I'm gonna go," he waved and turned to leave. "But I'll beat you next time!"

"You wish!" Lavitz called after the retreating figure. He grinned and turned to the cloaked man beside him. "So…you must be pretty bored to come see a fight, your Majesty."

"Have I told you lately not to call me that?" the other let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Most definitely…Albert."

Pulling the hood down and revealing his face, Albert grinned, tugging on the hem of his light green tunic. "I swear you do that for no other reason than to torture me."

Lavitz shrugged, attempting to hide a smile. "Call it a force of habit. But seriously, does anyone from the castle know you're here?"

Albert waved a hand dismissively. "You're worrying too much. It's only town."

"I guess you're right. I'm packing up here and heading for home real quick. Wanna come with?"

Albert considered this, putting his hands on his hips. "I don't think so. I'm probably just going to walk around for a while and head home myself."

Lavitz nodded. "I guess I'll see you there then."

"Alright," he replaced his hood and turned down the road through town.

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Albert neared the entrance to Bale, walking along the stone path. He was taking his time, wandering slowly and stopping to talk to passersby. Outside the town, nearer to the forest, he saw a young woman around eighteen with bright red hair on the path coming towards the gates. She looked injured, walking with a limp. He ran outside the gates and along the path to her.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

The woman looked at him, eyes widening at first, but narrowing slightly after her initial shock. "Oh! It's nothin' really. I was attacked on th' way here."

Albert offered his hand to her. "Bale is right here, and you can heal yourself once we get there."

The woman's gentle smile flashed a devious smirk. "Too bad ya won't be gettin' there!"

"W-what?"

The slight moment of hesitation of the brunette was all that was needed. The girl whistled and six or seven men appeared from the forest, surrounding them. Albert looked around, surprised by this turn of events and cursing himself for leaving the safety of the city gates.

"Don't give us any trouble yer Majesty," the girl said softly, "An' I promise ya won't be harmed in our company."

Albert decided to play dumb. "Majesty? What are you talking about? I'm just a random traveler!"

One of the men behind him yanked the cloak's hood down. "Nice try."

So much for the nonviolent approach.

"I don't know who you are, or what you want, but if you don't leave me alone at once, I'm afraid I'll have to fight."

The girl crossed her arms. "Eight against one unarmed? I believe th' odds're against ya."

Albert winced. She was right. He didn't have his spear, or any weapon for that matter. Moreover, he was greatly outnumbered. Suddenly he regretted his choice not to go with Lavitz.

His decision was made for him. One of the men charged at him, intending to tackle him easily to the ground. Albert spun around and dodged, sending the man lunging to the ground instead. Turning back to his original position, he found the largest of the gang waiting for him. The man's fist collided hard into the brunette's jaw, knocking his head to the side.

Albert saw stars for a brief second, and then put a hand to the wound. It wasn't broken at least. It hurt like hell, but that he could worry about later. He wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth and glared defiantly at the group.

"Ya morons! Yer not supposed ta hurt 'im!" the girl shrieked, stomping her foot angrily.

"You didn't tell us he was gonna be fightin' back!" the grounded fighter snapped back at her.

Seeing an opening, Albert turned to make a mad dash back to Bale. However, while watching the arguing pair, he wasn't watching the others. He ran right into the bigger man again. The king fell to the ground with the impact. As he scrambled to his feet, a strong hand grabbed onto his cloak at the neck, lifting him clear off the ground.

Before he could do anything, Albert felt something blunt slam into the back of his head. Then everything went dark.

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"What am I gonna do…?" Lavitz sighed for what seemed like the millionth time today. It was getting late, and there was still no sign of the king. Lavitz had gotten back to Indels Castle, only to find that no one had seen Albert since he had left this morning.

He had already looked around Bale for his friend, and finding nothing, he had resolved to search for him in the forest outside of town. It wasn't like Albert to leave town without telling Lavitz at least. If he wanted to brood, he shut himself in the library. If he wanted conversation, he went into town. This was something else, and it worried the knight to think that something might have happened to him.

The blond stood at the gates to the city, looking one last time through the streets, hoping that maybe he had missed the green cloak somewhere. No such luck.

"Anything yet?" Caleb's voice popped in, causing Lavitz to turn at him defensively.

Seeing who it was, he relaxed slightly, shaking his head. "Nothing."

"So, you're gonna go out there and look?" the brunette nodded to the forest that started a few feet from the gates.

"I suppose so," Lavitz sighed again and looked back at Caleb. "I'll be back soon. Just tell everyone not to worry, okay?"

With that, he ran into the forest determinedly, leaving poor Caleb dumbstruck at the gate, waving his arms frantically. "ME tell them? You two better come back here alive or I'll kill you!"

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When Albert awoke, it was getting dark. He mused he had been unconscious for a few hours at least. He hoped Lavitz would come looking for him soon. Even if he escaped, he still had to make it back to the city, and he wasn't in the best condition. His vision was still a bit fuzzy; whatever hit him must've hit hard. He wondered briefly if he had a concussion. The base of his head throbbed, right at the neck, not to mention his jaw. He reached up to inspect the wound on his neck, only to find his hands bound tightly in front of him.

"So yer up, huh?" the voice of the girl who had tricked him spoke up.

Albert didn't say anything, only blinking a few times to try to clear his vision again. He was at a campsite, leaning up against a large tree. Across from him, the young woman sat, tending a small fire. They appeared to be the only ones present, though he couldn't be sure the rest of the gang wasn't lurking around somewhere.

"Jeez…I'll kill John fer whackin' ya so hard! Moron put ya out fer half a day!" she got up and walked over to him, crouching down to stare eye level with him. "I'll tell ya, they ain't th' sharpest tools in th' shed."

Albert still did not reply.

"Wow, yer a talkative one, ain'tcha?" she rolled her eyes.

"I have no desire to make small talk with the person responsible for my kidnapping." He replied flatly.

The woman laughed a bit, almost sadly. "'S not like ya got anythin' better to do…" she was rewarded with a glare from the other. "Ah, whatever. Look, it's not really my fault yer here, though I doubt ya'd believe me."

"I can't say I do."

She sighed. "I suppose ya'd like ta know why yer here?"

He blinked once. "You'd tell me?"

She shrugged. "Why not? 'M just th' transporter. Fer starters, I'll introduce m'self. I'm Macchia."

He nodded politely. "I can't say it's a pleasure to meet you."

Macchia laughed, flicking a strand of red hair away absently. "No, I don't think it would be fer ya. I'd have like ta meet ya on better circumstances, but hey, that's life. So anyways, th' reason yer here is 'cuz Emperor Doel from Sandora wanted us ta bring ya to 'im. He promised my group a pretty impressive amount ta do it too. So it's nothin' personal, but I got a family ta take care of, ya know?"

"I see," Albert said curtly. Macchia got back up and returned to the fore, her back to him.

"Like I said, I wish we'd met under a more peaceful circumstance…"

"Perhaps someday we will," he said behind her, causing her to swirl around. While she had been tending the fire, Albert had managed to stand, and was now posed above her rather short stature. She squeaked once in alarm before he kicked a large piece of firewood at her legs, tripping her hard. "My apologies," he said quickly, before darting off into the forest.

"Craaaaap!" Macchia all but whined. She jumped to her feet and ran after the king.

Albert could hear running behind him a bit of a distance. If he could maintain his speed, he had a good chance of making it through the forest and into town before the woman could catch him. She might even give up, though he doubted that.

Suddenly a fallen tree branch hit his leg, and he took a running fall down a small hill. So much for maintaining speed. It took a moment longer than normal for him to get to his feet, considering his hands were still tied. He was just about to begin a new sprint when something grabbed tightly onto his ankle, causing him to fall to the forest floor once again. The hand that gripped his foot stood up quickly and roughly grabbed Albert by the cloak, yanking him to his feet once more.

"Ya just can't stay put, can ya?" a male voice growled, before Albert felt himself slammed into a nearby tree. His vision blurred again for a moment and the wind knocked out of him as he gasped for breath. The tree's bark scraped harshly against is face, leaving scratches on his cheek that he was sure were bleeding. But he couldn't worry about that right now. He was getting dizzy, and he might lose consciousness again if he didn't do something.

But there was nothing he could do. The man grabbed the back of Albert's cloak again and proceeded to drag him through the forest. The Serdian king stumbled behind him, tied hands reaching to his forehead in an attempt to see and think straight. He vaguely heard another pair of softer footsteps rustle through the dead leaves and a 'thunk' sound of something hard hitting flesh.

"Aww shit John! Ya banged 'im all up again!"

"Well, how'm I supposed ta keep 'im from runnin' off if I can't hit 'im a little!" John yelled, rubbing the lump forming on his head where Macchia had hit him. Albert didn't feel any sympathy toward his small injury.

"You thinka somethin'!" she hissed, taking Albert's cloak from him and leading the disoriented king back to the campsite. "Although I know thinkin' ain't yer strong point…"

"That's harsh…" John mumbled behind them.

She scoffed. "So's th' bruises yer givin' 'im, ya moron."

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End of the revised and expanded first chappeh. The next one'll beh along shortly, if I can remember what I was gonna do with this. If anyone has some suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :stops herself from typing like Macchia: Her accent's fun to do…Heh. So, yeah. Reviews are appreciated, and I hope everyone'll forgive meh for the sudden magic act from the fandom. :offers love…and cookies:


	2. Reconciliation

Chapter Two: Reconciliation

Notes: Okay, finally on to chappeh 2! So this one's still 2.0 I guess…:laughs: As of right now, I'm basing this off memory, because my friend has my first disc of the game. So, if not everything's perfect detail-wise, don't kill me, okay? Just let meh know and I'll try to fix it. Tho I should have it back before chappeh 3 goes out. In addition, for anyone wondering about Hotel California in the Saiyuki section I lost another disc of chappeh 6…:hangs head: I'm trying to get it back tho.

Warnings: Pre-Jade bashing…literally. O-o…

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"You'd better still be in this damn forest…" Lavitz muttered angrily, scraping yet another dead…thing off his spear. Monsters kept attacking him for some reason, most likely finding his solo mission an easy target. He rolled his eyes. "At least if I go missing they can just follow the trail of carcasses and find me…"

He was unsure what time it was, but the sky was almost black; it was later into the night than he wished either himself or Albert to be out in a forest. Therefore, he trudged through the trees and bushes, searching for his friend and randomly beating back attacking monsters. He almost started to wish he had brought Caleb with him, if only for someone to talk to beside himself. However, as trained as he was, Caleb wasn't ready for this kind of campaign, so Lavitz walked on alone.

He was just starting to wonder if Albert was even in this forest when he heard a voice cry out some ways in front of him. With a curse, Lavitz broke out into a run, crashing through foliage in attempt to reach the scene. What he found, however, was a steep drop off and a large hill. Not anticipating this, he lost his balance and fell, rolling roughly down the hill and hitting the bottom hard. For a second, all he could do was lay there and try to breathe. His head was spinning from the sudden motion and his body hurt from his crash landing.

But he needed to find out what that voice was before it was too late. He forced himself to get up, almost crying out himself as he realized his spear had slashed his leg during the fall. Biting his lip to keep quiet, he rose to a standing position, leaning on the spear for some support. Examining the wound briefly, he determined that it wasn't as serious as it could have been, and he could still walk. He started slowly up the other side of the hill.

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Albert opened his eyes. As he had hoped, all the gang had finally fallen asleep. Macchia had told John to keep him still and left him to it. John, not being the smartest of the group, had merely tied a piece of rope to the king's bound hands and held onto it while he slept. This new piece of rope was easily untied, and Albert left the campsite quietly.

His general condition could have been better. He had a massive headache from all the blunt force trauma of the day, not to mention scratches along his face. Nevertheless, he was still in one piece, and capable of walking, even if his hands were still tied. He stumbled around for a while, unable to get a sense of direction, just moving as far away possible from the transporters. Eventually he came to the hill he had fallen from the first time he had escaped. Walking down slowly, he managed to make it to the bottom without falling. He started up the next hill at the same pace, trying to keep his equilibrium. Something snapped behind him, and he turned sharply to see what it was. The sudden motions made his head spin once more, and he started to fall.

A hand seemed to reach out of nowhere and grab him by the wrists, pulling him the rest of the way up. Another hand clamped over his mouth as Albert tried to yell. The king tried to wrench free of this new person's grasp, only to have the person pull him close, trapping his arms in front of him.

"Will you give it a rest before you wake up all the monsters?" an exasperated voice hissed in his ear.

Albert stopped squirming immediately and the hand was removed. "Lavitz!"

The knight grinned. "Last time I checked," he looked the brunette over. "What the hell happened to you?"

Albert shook his head. "It's a long story. What's most important right now is getting back to Bale."

Lavitz nodded, untying the ropes on Albert's hands. Now free of the bonds, he grabbed the knight's arm and began dragging him along urgently.

"Uh…do you know where we're going?"

Albert looked straightforward. "Not to my current knowledge, no."

"That's reassuring," Lavitz put a bit of resistance into his arm, stopping the slightly weaker man. "You wanna mind telling me why we're rushing off into the darkness of Soa-knows-where?"

Finally, Albert turned around. "There are transporters camping a small distance away, charged with the mission to bring me to Sandora," he replied hurriedly, "Now, with your permission, I'd like to get as far away from them as possible before they realize I'm no longer there."

Lavitz still didn't move. "You came from that way?" he pointed in the direction opposite the one they were currently headed. Albert nodded. "Well, so did I. That means Bale is that way also. We're headed the wrong way."

Albert considered this. Their options were to either try to go back without crossing paths with the transporters, go through their campsite and attempt to not wake them, or continue in the direction they were going, and come out the other end of the forest. He decided to go with the third possibility.

"We'll keep moving and head out of the forest the other way. Then we cane take the long way around the forest in the morning."

Lavitz seemed to agree with this plan of action. He was better suited to action rather than strategy, and was happy to let Albert do the planning for both of them. Moreover, in the condition his leg was in, he would like to avoid as many battles as possible. He followed slightly behind his friend, trying to hide any evidence of an injury, from both enemies and Albert. The brunette looked bad enough; he didn't need his knight's problems added to the mix.

The Serdian king's senses were sharper than Lavitz gave him credit for, however, and he noticed the miniscule flinch of Lavitz's face each time he leaned on his left leg. "I take it your journey wasn't entirely uneventful as well?"

"Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't notice," he smiled wryly. "I took a flying leap off a hill and slashed myself with the spear. No biggie though."

Albert raised an eyebrow. "How brave of you…" he nudged the blonde's leg slightly, causing him to drop to one knee. "No biggie, huh?"

"Well, it wasn't until you had to go and prod it!" he glared, using the spear to push himself back to a standing position.

The brunette continued walking. "You should have said something earlier."

Lavitz followed behind. "Why, so you could either fussed over it like I thought, or be completely callous to it like you are?" he muttered.

Albert frowned. "Callous? I wasn't aware I was being as such. I knew you wouldn't want a big deal made of it, or else you would have brought it up sooner. I merely decided to do you a favour."

Lavitz rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"What are you so upset about anyway?"

He yanked on the brunette's cloak, turning his friend to face him. "What I'm upset about? I'm upset that I went out of my way to save your ass and you're acting like it's no big deal!"

Albert crossed his arms. "So, you want me to pretend it's nothing, but it is? You're not being clear on what you want here…"

"I want you to show a little appreciation!" he growled. "I normally don't wander aimlessly around in the woods at night looking for kidnapped people, okay!"

The king shrugged. "Fine then. Thank you. Are you done with your little angst now?"

"You know I—" Lavitz stopped abruptly, dropping again. "Shit, that hurts!"

The argument forgotten, Albert knelt beside him. "Let me see it. I thought you said it wasn't bad."

He winced. "I didn't think it was. I guess I'm no doctor."

Albert looked at the injury. While it wasn't fatal, it was a wound, and it needed treating as soon as possible. There was a gash running almost from ankle to knee, deep enough to cause a bit of blood flow. He sat down beside his friend, taking the hem of his cloak in his hands and tearing the edge of it. Wordlessly, he gently lifted Lavitz's pants leg and tied the cloth around the wound tightly.

The blond winced as the pressure hit the wound, but didn't complain. This done, Albert stood once more. "Do you think you can make it the rest of the way?"

Lavitz got up slowly, testing the weight on his leg. "I think so. Thanks."

He smiled. "It's the least I could do, after you went out of your way to come get me."

"Sorry about that."

Albert shook his head. "It was my fault, really. I think we're both just frustrated. I believe it's time we were out of this forest, don't you agree?"

Leaning on his spear once more, Lavitz took a step forward. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

The two continued for some time, moving as best they could despite their injuries. But an uncalculated amount of time later, they found themselves moving slower and slower. Finally, they decided they could go no further that night.

"I think we're far enough from them to be safe for the time being," Albert sat on the ground with a sigh.

"The way I figure," Lavitz eased himself into a sitting position next to the brunette, "they're expecting you to head back for Bale. So we're at an advantage for a while here."

"You may be right," the king responded. "I suppose we can get some sleep before we go the rest of the way. I believe we're in dire need of it."

Lavitz nodded. "I hear you." He laid down where he had been sitting.

Albert took off his cloak, spreading it over them both before lying down as well. "You're already injured. We don't need you getting sick on top of that."

Lavitz laughed a bit. If it were anyone else, there would have been a pride issue. But neither of them had to worry about that around each other. It was just how things were between them.

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Morning found them both wrapped in the cloak, sleeping as best they could under the circumstances. But it was still much-needed sleep, and they were grateful for it. Lavitz awoke first, being more accustomed to late nights and early mornings. He got up carefully, so as not to wake the king beside him, and took in the surroundings. It was a lot easier to judge their position in the daylight, and he found that they weren't too far from the forest edge.

"Your leg seems to be faring better," Albert said, sitting up.

Lavitz nodded. "I think it is. And I have some better news. I think we can be out of the forest by midday. And probably back to Bale by nightfall, if things go our way."

"Which they've been doing so well lately…" he responded sarcastically. He was about to stand up when Lavitz ducked over to him, pushing him back down urgently. "What're you doing?"

"I saw someone at the top of the last hill," he threw the cloak over Albert and began piling leaves on top of it. "They don't know me yet, so if it's the guys after you, they'll find me, but not you."

"Wouldn't it be better to just run?"

Lavitz shook his head, a futile gesture since though Albert's head was currently covered. "I think they're tracking us, or at least you. Better to throw them off the course here."

Albert lay completely still as Lavitz hid him in the leaves. Once the knight was convinced his friend couldn't be found, he leaned against a nearby rock, trying to look inconspicuous. Or as much so as one could be in the middle of a forest.

A group of people soon passed him, about seven in number. All of them male save for one young woman with red hair. He regarded them with detached interest, pretending to be very interested in cleaning his spear.

"I don't suppose ya've seen a guy with long brown hair wanderin' through here, have ya?" the redhead asked him sweetly.

Lavitz shook his head. "I haven't seen anyone around here. You all are the first people I've met in this forest."

Finding nothing, the gang started to move past him when the girl came to a halt. She turned to face him again, looking him over curiously. "Yer a Serdian knight, ain'tcha?"

Lavitz winced internally. She recognized his armor. "Yeah. Why?"

"Do ya know yer king's done ran off?"

Lavitz blinked. "He has? Are they looking for him?"

She walked closer to him. "I think so."

"Oh. That's good. I suppose I'll go back into town when I'm done here. Thanks for filling me in."

Her eyes faltered briefly to his leg, where his pants were cut along with his now bandaged leg. Before Lavitz could do anything to stop her, she kicked the wound hard, causing the blond to fall, stifling a yell. John was beside her in a second, knocking the spear from Lavitz's hand and pulling the knight up by his collar.

Under the leaves, Albert kept still. His first instinct was to jump out when he heard his friend fall, but he suppressed it. He had to wait until he was sure Lavitz couldn't handle it himself.

Lavitz hissed through his teeth, trying to stand again. "What the hell was that for!"

Macchia crossed her arms. "Do ya think we're stupid? Granted, these guys ain't too bright, but ya gotta do better than that ta git past me! Ya must be a pretty loyal knight ta go searchin' through the woods all night ta find him. How do we know ya ain't hidin' 'im somewhere?"

Lavitz decided to change tactics. "Fine, I am looking for him. But I haven't found him yet, I swear."

She kicked his leg again. "Yer a terrible liar."

This time he did yell from the pain shooting through his poor leg. Hearing this, Albert burst from his hiding place. "Lavitz!"

One of the transporters was on him in a second, seizing him roughly but the shoulders. Macchia returned her gaze to Lavitz. "Ya haven't found 'im, huh?"

He reached for her, but John yanked him back abruptly, stopping his attack.

"Well guys, let's git 'im ta Sandora and collect our pay," Macchia starting walking.

"Whadda we do wit' th' new guy?" John asked, shaking Lavitz a bit for good measure.

Macchia considered this. "We can't risk 'im tellin' everyone what happened. Ya hafta kill 'im I guess. Nothin' personal."

John nodded, keeping Lavitz held with one hand while he took out a dagger with the other.

"No!" Albert shouted, wriggling to break free of his captor's grasp. "Leave him alone!"

Macchia put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Will ya come wit' us quietly if we do?"

The brunette sighed in defeat. "Only if you swear not to hurt him in any way."

"Ya have my word."

"Dammit Albert!" Lavitz snapped as John let him go. His legs immediately buckled from under him.

"Sorry," he replied as he too was set down.

Macchia put her hands on her hips. "C'mon boys. It's still a ways ta Sandora, so let's git movin'."

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End of chappeh 2. What do you all think so far? Um…just in case I don't get my disc back in time, what exactly is the path from Bale to Sandora? And what's the town on the other side of the forest? Wasn't it Dart's hometown:is forgetful: I might hafta look it up. I don't think I can do the next chappeh without it. Does anyone have any opinion on whether or not this should beh shounen-ai? I still can't decide.

Special thankehs to the people who review both chappehs. You know who you are. :grins:


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